• Pan-European real estate investment manager MARK secures ISR-label for its Paris Urban Regeneration fund (MPUR)
• First value-add real estate fund with activity focused exclusively on Paris to achieve the accreditation awarded by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance
• Award recognises fund which will target €750m of assets and create buildings with unrivalled ESG credentials

MARK, which manages €10bn in real estate assets across Europe, has announced the successful awarding of the ISR-label for its Paris-focused value-add fund, MPUR.

Created in 2016 by the French government’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, the ISR-label is awarded exclusively to funds which demonstrate concrete and measurable results from socially responsible investments.

Its scope was extended to real estate in 2020, and made available to funds which complete the renovation of old buildings to achieve better standards of insulation and energy performance.

The label has been awarded to MARK’s Paris Urban Regeneration Fund (MPUR), which is managed with MARK’s French investment and development platforms STEPLING and ASSEMBLY. Targeting €750m of assets under management, the fund’s strategy is to acquire prime-located but obsolete or underutilised buildings in Paris and redevelop them into mixed-use commercial-led spaces with unrivalled ESG credentials.

The accreditation was awarded after independent bodies (AFNOR Certification) undertook a strict assessment of MPUR’s strategy, which is based upon six key pillars:

1. Urban regeneration: 100% of the buildings acquired by the fund will be obsolete and subject to functional, technical and environmental repositioning to make them highly sustainable and contemporary assets which integrate a mixture of uses.
2. Reduce the carbon impact of restructured assets in the construction and operational Preserve and enhance the existing structure as much as possible to promote the circular economy by reusing materials and to promote the usage of short circuit supply-chains. The objective is to obtain the BBCA label on the entire portfolio, which would make MPUR one of the only asset portfolios with these qualities.
3. Systematic consideration of biodiversity in developed buildings: 100% of the assets will be subject to an ecological study to assess the biodiversity potential and at least 50% of the assets in the portfolio will incorporate new vegetated surfaces. The fund will contribute to the improvement of air quality in the city and fight against heat peaks, in line with the greening goal of the city of Paris.
4. Reduce operational energy consumption by 60% : On all of its buildings, MARK will reduce consumption in the operational phase by 60% (in relative or absolute value) by The fund aims for this objective as soon as the building is delivered in order to make them compatible with the requirements of the tertiary decree Objectif 2050. It will integrate efficient and intelligent energy systems and will raise awareness among stakeholders including future users of this reduction objective.
5. 100% green loans on projects: Include banking partners in a sustainable finance approach and demonstrate the ESG virtues of investment, where an independent external audit validates the ESG ambition of the project.
6. Find a community organisation to occupy the building until the commencement of the construction works: This ambition is partly illustrated by MARK’s work with the CASP association, where a shelter for at-risk women and children was established in the Grand Opera Project. This initiative allowed 127 families to be accommodated in this unexpected location during the development phase of the asset over the course of a year..

In July this year, MPUR acquired the former headquarters of Liberation newspaper in Le Marais, which will be transformed into a state-of-the-art office building of 6000 sq-m with industry-leading ESG, amenity and technology credentials.

Philippe BIDAUD, managing director of MARK in France and board member, said: “The ISR-label of our first Paris-focused fund is a recognition of the positive environmental and social impacts our investments will have.

“Obtaining this ISR-label has only been possible thanks to a robust ESG strategy that is backed by a rating framework and reporting process for our various project stakeholders. We are proud that MPUR carries these essential extra-financial values for the society of today and tomorrow.”

Marvin MARCIANO, Head of Investment for MPUR, said: “MPUR has defined a raison d’être that ensures that a clear strategy and set of principles are applied throughout the investment and redevelopment process. Our vertically integrated model with our developer ASSEMBLY allows our investment and development teams to work hand-in-hand on the environmental quality of assets throughout their lifecycle, from sourcing to building delivery.

“The rising tide of environmental regulation in France, coupled with the growing importance of a building’s ESG credentials for investors, lenders and occupiers, will continue to polarise the market by way of ESG and non-ESG focused assets, with the former offering a green premium to investors.”

MARK’s historic investments in Paris include:

• Pershing Hall, a former 1920’s mansion repositioned into a prime mixed-use retail, F&B and office asset, now home to New York streetwear brand KITH and brunch spot Sadelle’s. The building was sold to Allianz this year.
• TOKO,’ Yahoo’s former Paris HQ that MARK redeveloped into a mixed co-living and co-working scheme that was forward sold to DWS and La Française REM.
• The former W Paris Opera Hotel, which MARK developed into a mixed retail and office